Before I enrolled in Martinez Adult Education, I dropped out of high school at the beginning of my senior year of high school. I decided to go to an adult school in my neighborhood, but then remembered that my cousin graduated from MAE and told me I should go there because they were very nice and helpful. The teachers at MAE were so caring, asking me about how my life is going and how the things going on in my life may interfere with my school work. I would always appreciate my teacher Judy's comments, because from my experience, teachers usually don't check up on students. Having a teacher who cared about me was the complete opposite of the teachers I dealt with in my high school the year before. I decided to enroll at Martinez Adult Education because I needed a way to earn my diploma by the end of the year; it was my senior year in high school and I didn't want to take another 2 years at school trying to get my diploma. MAE gave me a plan, and if I came every day and did schoolwork at home, I would accomplish my goal. My goal was to finish my senior year and get my diploma ... and it came true! What I plan to do now is go to college and become something great. It doesn't matter what I do as long as I'm consistent and hard working, like my experience at MAE has taught me. Not only have I learned the importance of consistency, but MAE also saved my high school experience. Indeed, my experience at Martinez Adult Education changed my mindset from a victim mentality to an "I can do it myself if I work hard and have a determined mindset" mentality. 

Sweeta Amini arrived here in the United States from her home country of Afghanistan in March 2022. In June 2022 she started taking ESL dasses at MAE at the beginning low level. Sweeta has been very motivated to improve her English skills, and thus strives to attend her ESL classes every day, and consistently complete her dass homework. As a result of her hard work, Sweeta's English level has improved to the intermediate level and is proud to say that now she can more easi􀂾 communicate with people in the community. Besides her goal of improving her English, Sweeta has also realized some of her other goals including getting her driver's license, developing her computer skills, and finding a job. In fact, she now has 3 jobs working at a jewelry store, a dress store, and as a driving instructor. In the near future, she plans to register for college classes at DVC. Finally, Sweeta sciys her long-term goals are to become a pediatric nurse and start a business. Congratulations to Sweeta on her great accomplishments thus far, and best wishes to her with achieving her future goals.

Martinez Adult Education provided me with the opportunity to continue studying and made it very easy although dealing with multiple life obstacles. I had just moved here from Mexico as a single mother and decided to continue studying to be able to provide for my son. The incredible staff at MAE helped me discover my dream career and facilitated the resources necessary to be able to complete the amazing medical billing program. The teachers are highly knowledgeable and are always rnotivating ou to do your best, especially my teacher Lillian from the medical coding an Jbilling classes. In addition to teaching me everything needed to pass the certification test, she also helped me prepare for the work field. I highly recommend this school to anyone looking to continue their studies and I will always be grateful to them for giving me the support necessary to achieve my goals.

I worked in the retail industry for 17 years. It provided me with a consistent paycheck
and benefits which was necessary as I was a single mom. However, I wanted my
weekends back, higher wages, and a new challenge working in an industry that
gives back to the community. I hadn’t worked in an office since the 90s and I
knew only the basics of computer skills. So the same week I drove my son to his
dorm for his freshman year of college, I also quit my job and went back to school
at Martinez Adult Education. I was able to get a certificate of completion for a
couple of different computer programs, and then completed MAE’s Bookkeeping
Program with financial help from a WIOA grant that Nicole and Tanya walked me through. Linda and Marcio were patient and helpful teachers, and Bruno reviewed and helped me fine-tune my resume and my interview skills. I can’t express how much I appreciated all of their help. The employees of MAE truly were giving back to the community and I felt a part of it. With this in mind, I decided that working at a school would be a good fit for me. So with all of my new skills I applied for a job as the office manager at, wait for it...Martinez Adult Education. I got the job and now enjoy giving back to our community here in Martinez and beyond.

After a job injury in 2019, I needed to revamp my abilities and start a new Career. I wanted a program that could ignite my Tax Preparer Career so I can help clients better. Since I prepared lots of Small Business returns, I thought about going back to school and learn Accounting or Bookkeeping. However, I didn't want to commute, I didn't want a long career and I had an urgent need to get back to a Full-time job. COVID19 showed up and virtual training went viral and affordable! From my daughter's prior experience, I already knew that MAE offered Professional shortterm programs and I found the Accounting Specialist Program which perfectly fits my Career goals. I started in Sept 2020 and today, I am just one class away from my Certificate and the best accomplishment: less than a year later, on 8-23-21 I did land a job that combines Bookkeeping and Taxes! Love it and love my peers, it's a complete coming back to business 100%! I want to aplaude the MAE Staff in general with especial Kudos to Nicole Gero who has lots of patience and prompt responses! Also, to Marcio D'Paula and Linda Yocum, both are excellent and understanding "Maestros", with a great ability to transfer skills from Instructor to Student. "It's never too late to achieve one more goal!"